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Photo courtesy Navarro College Beauregard V passed away Saturday
following a seizure
at the Navarro College football game against Hutchinson Community
College.
Beauregard V, Navarro College’s cheerful doggy mascot for the past
six years, passed away Saturday following a seizure at the Navarro
College football game against Hutchinson Junior College. It was not his
first seizure, but was fatal.
Beau, as he was known across the campus, was born February 25, 2006, to
breeders Ward and Natalie McAfee of Weatherford. Willy, as he was
originallty dubbed, was adopted by Director of Student Activities Phil
Sims, who was his “dad” and handler for the next six years.
“He’d gone to birthday parties, engagements in town, he even went to the
National Championship with the football team,” Sims recalled Tuesday.
“He even met Reville (A&M University’s Sheltie mascot). He had a good
time meeting her.”
Fond of water bottles, toys and attention, Beau lumbered around campus
like he owned it, receiving petting, hugs and treats as if they were his
due.
“There were offices that always had treats for him,” Sims recalled.
“He’d be on campus for hours getting loving, and he’d come home and want
more.”
As a younger dog, Beau would be given plastic water bottles, but his
strong jaws made those useless as toys after awhile. Eventually, his
people turned to Kong toys, tough rubber dog toys that could be filled
with treats. Supposedly indestructible, the Kong toys lasted about a
week with this bulldog.
“They didn’t pass the ‘Beau test,’” Sims said.
His legacy will live beyond him, since he became a big part of the
school’s marketing and morale campaigns. New freshmen attend “Beau
camp,” are given a “Beau card” as their campus identity, and they
communicate through “Beau mail,” the school’s e-mail system.
“Beau was a significant part of the Navarro College community,” Dr.
Richard Sanchez remarked. “He brought events to life and gave them
purpose. He had a gentle spirit and was always so willing to do what he
was asked to do, whether it was taking pictures, meeting with students,
or just being on campus.”
The charming dog was the campus’ fifth bulldog mascot, according to Dr.
Tommy Stringer of Navarro College.
“We had a couple of Beaus that were not named Beau,” he said. “We’ve had
five bulldog mascots. It started in the 1950s. Of course, the current
Beau is the one that really captured the campus. He’s such a visible
part of campus life. He appears in all kinds of events and just shows up
at all kinds of things. He’s been embraced by the whole campuse. He will
be missed.”
The tradition of having a live dog mascot fell out of favor in the
1970s, and was only revived six years ago, Stringer said.
A memorial service for Beau will take place at 11 a.m. Friday in the
plaza between the adminstration building and the Gooch Center.
“He was the most spoiled rotten dog you could ever meet,” Sims recalled
fondly. “He lived a charmed life, no doubt about it.”
Notes:
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Navarro County TXGenWeb